NEWS                                                          June 19, 1997

      MARY ELLEN BURNS, DEPUTY CHIEF, MASS MEDIA BUREAU, TO LEAVE FCC


     Mary Ellen Burns, Deputy Chief of the Mass Media Bureau, has announced that she will
leave the Commission at the end of June to pursue new opportunities and challenges.

     Ms. Burns joined the Commission in March 1994.  She served as Division Chief of the
Consumer Protection and Competition Division in the Cable Services Bureau for over two years
and has been Deputy Bureau Chief of the Mass Media Bureau since June 1996.  In the Cable
Services Bureau, Ms. Burns spearheaded efforts on program access, appeals of local rate order,
effective competition determinations, and other adjudicatory matters.  She worked on
rulemakings under the 1996 Telecommunications Act, including the issue of commecial
availability of navigation devices and set-top boxes.  She worked to staff the bureau when it was
created.  As Deputy Chief in the Mass Media Bureau, she assisted in the work of that Bureau,
involving transactions, assignments, renewals, and various rulemakings.

     Prior to coming to the Commission, Ms. Burns was the Chief Assistant Attorney General
in the State of New York. 

     FCC Chairman Reed Hundt said, "Mary Ellen has been an invaluable contributor to the
work of the Commission during this critical time in telecommunications.  She has served the
FCC with distinction throughout her tenure.  Her  legal talent and her dedication to public
service have been a tremendous asset in two key areas -- cable television and broadcast TV and
radio.  I know we will miss her here, both at the Bureaus with which she has been associated,
and throughout the entire Commission.  I wish her much continued success."

     Ms. Burns said, "I want to thank Chairman Hundt and the Commission for giving me
the opportunity to serve in the federal government during these times of change and challenge
in communications.  It has indeed been a privilege."

     Ms. Burns is a graduate of Harvard University and the New York University School of
Law.


                                  - FCC -